Amazon's grocery sales rose 40% year on year

"New data shows that Amazon second-quarter grocery sales came in at $650 million, up 40 percent year over year. The report, released by One Click Retail, also revealed that the eCommerce giant held 18 percent of U.S. online grocery sales since 2017, the largest share of any single retailer. In fact, Amazon’s current share of the online grocery space has now doubled that of its closest competitor.
That growth comes with “nearly every category attracting more and more grocery shoppers to Amazon,” according to report author Jacob Porter, director of One Click’s global marketing.
Beverages comprise most of Amazon’s online grocery sales market, with “cold beverages at $140 million (+36 percent) and coffee at $135 million (+40 percent) in the second quarter. Coffee, in fact, accounted for seven of Amazon’s 10 best-selling grocery items. The Original Donut Shop Regular Medium Roast Coffee (pack of 72 single-serve K-Cup pods)” continued to hold the top spot for the quarter, according to reports."

Source:  PYMNTS, 20th July 2018

Note - I'm assuming that the numbers are global, but that most of the sales will have happened in the US

21% of US apparel sales are made online

"Online apparel retailers, particularly pure-players, are set to take share from brick-and-mortar rivals through next year, according to a new report from global information company NPD Group emailed to Retail Dive.
Last year, 21% of annual apparel sales came from website purchases, and 76% from in-store purchases, according to the report. And while in-store purchases declined 3% compared to 2016, online apparel sales rose 7% to $46 billion.
Almost half of U.S. online shoppers bought apparel last year, and the annual apparel online spend per buyer rose 11% compared to 2016, according to NPD."

Source:  Retail Dive, 20th July 2018

More than a quarter of American clothing sales by value are online

"Online apparel sales accounted for 27.4% of overall U.S. apparel sales last year, up from 23.5% in 2016 and 20.7% in 2015, according to the most recent Internet Retailer Online Apparel Report published last week.
Apparel retailers dominated Internet Retailer’s 2018 Top 1000 list with 266 (more than any other category) making the list. That doesn’t include mass-merchant giants like Amazon (number one on that list) and Walmart (number three).
Many consumers say they like buying apparel online: 43.2% of respondents to a February survey of 2,535 U.S. consumers by PYMNTS.com said they prefer to shop for clothing in stores, while 26.9% prefer to shop only online and 29.9% said they prefer to shop both. But other research has found that more shoppers want to "try before they buy" clothing online."

Source:  Retail Dive, 2nd July 2018

Over 10% of spending on toys is adults buying things for themselves

"The profitable ‘kidults’ market is continuing to grow as new data reveals that adults spent £383 million on toys for themselves in 2017.
According to the NPD, the kidult market has grown by eight per cent in value over the course of last year and now amounts to 11 per cent of the total toy sector; a rise of £30 million in value since 2016.
To put that in to context, £1 in every £9 spent on toys today is adult buying toys for themselves.
The latest results results from the toy industry tracking group reveal that millennials account for almost half (48 per cent) of the spend among grown ups buying toys for themselves, while Generation X-ers account for 28 per cent and Boomers account for 24 per cent.
Among the millennials market, 62 per cent of the money spent on toys for adults is by young parents. Another four in 10 (38 per cent) are not yet into parenthood and many of this young group are fans of pop-culture, expressing their fandom by buying toys."

Source:  Toy News, 17th April 2018

Note - It's not clear whether this is global, or UK only.  I'm assuming that it's global (but currencies are in sterling as it's a UK publication)

Teens in the US list Food, Beauty and Video Games as things they'd most like to spend money on

"Overall teen spending up 6% from fall and up 2% from a year ago.
Food, beauty and video games continue to dominate teen wallet.
Athletic cycle above historic average but streetwear cycle accelerates.
Teens opt for Snapchat and Instagram as Facebook stabilizes.
Spending & Shopping Behavior
Food reaccelerates as teens’ No. 1 spending category, returning to its 24% peak.
Male spending on video games reaches a new peak at 13%, closing in on fashion.
Beauty spending hit a new high for females at $368 per year led by skincare, up 18% year-over-year.
Department stores and legacy channels continue to shed share as online hits new highs.
Brand Preferences
Streetwear has seen the largest incremental gains led by Vans (No. 1 footwear brand) and Supreme (No. 7 apparel brand); 1990s revival underway with Champion and Tommy Hilfiger.
Nike mindshare declines; adidas is firmly No. 3 brand (14% share footwear, 6% apparel).
Ralph Lauren moves out of top-10 brand list for males, formerly a top-10 brand since 2002.
Intent to buy iPhone reaches a new high – 84% of Gen-Z will choose the iPhone next (compared to 82% last fall).
eBay mindshare declined to its lowest level recorded at 1.8%, compared to 3% in fall 2017."

Source:  Piper Jaffray's Taking Stock With Teens report, 16th April 2018

Juniper estimates that 1.3bn QR code coupons were redeemed in 2017

"Until recently, the QR code was one of the great contenders in the race to ignite mobile commerce. But according to new reserach from Juniper, the humble QR code may be facing a rich second life as a driver of mobile loyalty.
New data released by the firm indicated that 1.3 billion mobile QR code coupons were estimated to have been redeemed last year, and the figure is set to grow by a lot — to 5.3 billion by 2022. Juniper also assigned a 2022 deadline for 4 billion mobile-enabled loyalty cards being activated by 2022 — nearly doubling the 2017 rate.
The QR-based coupon redemptions, according to Juniper, will occur across 1 billion phones and take a major boost from the fact that Apple has finally decided to include a QR code scanner in its iPhone product.
Despite a past littered with sad — and in some cases hilarious — misses, QR codes have enjoyed something of a renaissance, as players have begun using them as a nearly universal tool for consumer engagement. On top of that, consumers usually needed a special mobile app to turn their smartphone cameras into coupon scanners, which dampened enthusiasm for use. As Apple has moved to embed the technology, enthusiasm is seeing a big uptick, even in previously resistant markets."
Source:  PYMNTS, 10th January 2018
Note - I'm not entirely sure what 'redeemed' is defined as - it may be the same as 'scanned'

Mobile had its first $2bn day in the US on Cyber Monday 2017

"Mobile had its first-ever $2bn shopping day in the US on Cyber Monday, helping drive online sales to its largest total in history of $6.59bn for the day.
According to Adobe estimates, smartphones alone accounted for $1.59bn of revenue on the day, representing an all-time high year-on-year (YoY) growth of 39.2 per cent. Smartphone traffic also saw growth of 22.2 per cent, helping overall web traffic to retail sites to increase by 11.9 per cent.
Overall mobile devices represented 47.4 per cent of retail site visits – 39.9 per cent smartphones, 7.6 per cent tablets – and 33.1 per cent of revenue – 24.1 per cent smartphone, nine per cent tablets. Mobile transactions were 12 per cent higher in value on average than Cyber Monday 2016."

Source:  Mobile Marketing, 29th November 2017

Note - so $1.6bn for mobile, and $0.6bn for tablets
Plus - Black Friday stats here
Plus - Data on in-store footfall here

Alibaba sold $25bn worth of products on Singles Day 2017

"Alibaba has set another Single’s Day record after the e-commerce giant sold over $25 billion of product on the Chinese biggest online shopping date.
The full number comes in at 163.8 billion RMB, that’s roughly $25.3 billion, in GMV — that’s “gross merchandise volume” which is used to measure a dollar value for all sales on a platform. In Alibaba’s case, that predominantly means its Taobao marketplace and Tmall brand store although it does offer sales via its international services and it ships worldwide. All told, Alibaba handled 1.48 Billion transactions during the 24-hour period.
That represents an impressive 39 percent increase on last year’s sales total of RMB 120.7 billion ($17.79 billion), and it comes nicely on the heels of another blockbuster quarter in which Alibaba’s revenue surged by 61 percent thanks to its core business in China.
For comparison, Alibaba’s Single’s Day haul puts America’s largest shopping days in the corner. Retailers pulled in a record $3 billion on Black Friday and then $3.45 billion on Cyber Monday, both of which were records."
Source:  Techcrunch, 12th November 2017
Plus - 90% on mobile, up from 82% in 2016 and 69% in 2015

Amazon's price cuts at Whole Foods boosted footfall by 25%

"Amazon.com Inc.’s splashy takeover of Whole Foods, complete with deep price cuts, did more than bring a surge of publicity to the chain: It boosted customer traffic by 25 percent.
That’s the finding of Foursquare Labs Inc., which compiled location information during the first two days after Amazon completed its acquisition of the grocer. The data, culled from shoppers’ mobile devices, was compared with the same period a week earlier."

Source:  Bloomberg, 11th September 2017

Macy's customers who buy online and collect in-store spend 25% more

"While Macy’s overall sales fell 5.4% year-on-year in Q2, the brand saw double-digit growth in online sales. Robust omnichannel capabilities play an integral role in the brand’s digital sophistication and serve as an opportunity for growth.
Macy’s customers who buy items online and pick them up in-store spend 25% more, making clear that brands need to nail the basics on omnichannel capabilities. Macy’s steps up to the plate and offers eight of the nine crucial omnichannel features mentioned by L2 retail experts Harrison Lewin and Chad Bright at this year’s DLA event in New York."

Source:  L2 inc, 25th August 2017

Amazon cut prices at Whole Foods by up to 43% on its first day of ownership

"Amazon.com Inc. spent its first day as the owner of a brick-and-mortar grocery chain cutting prices at Whole Foods Market as much as 43 percent.
In a sign of how the retailer is changing, the Amazon Echo, a voice-activated electronic assistant, was also for sale, for $99.99 -- a sharp pivot into electronics for a company known for kale and quinoa. The Echo Dot, a smaller version, was advertised for $44.99.
The tech giant’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods has sent shock waves through the already changing $800 billion supermarket industry. The wedding between Amazon and the upscale grocery promises to upend the way customers shop for groceries. Cutting prices at the chain with such an entrenched reputation for high cost that its nickname is Whole Paycheck is a sign that Amazon is serious about taking on competitors such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Kroger Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp."
Source:  Bloomberg, 28th August 2017

Amazon's own-label goods account for 2% of sales, rising to 12% during Prime Day

"Amazon has been doubling down on its private label business in recent months, though many of its own brands aren’t easily identifiable to consumers as they don’t indicate they’re Amazon-made products. But these private labels have been gaining steam, according to a new report out this week from 1010data. Several Amazon brands have been seeing tremendous growth, it found, including AmazonBasics, kids’ clothing brand Scout + Ro, Amazon Elements, and other Amazon-made devices like Echo, Kindle, and Fire TV.
The report comes from analytics and insights firm 1010data, which regularly tracks Amazon’s private label business.
During the first half of the year, Amazon’s private labels accounted for just 2 percent of total units sold, excluding marketplace and subscriptions, but the retailer boosted that figure to 12 percent during Prime Day, the report found."

Source:  Techcrunch, 16th August 2017

Note - Clearly Amazon is able to coordinate big discounts on its own label products during Prime Day!

In-App ordering accounts of 9% of Starbucks transactions

"Starbucks, the coffee chain with 27,000 stores in 75 countries, continues to ramp up mobile technology as a key part of its strategy to handle customer orders, payments and loyalty programs. The company plans to test a guest checkout feature for first-time users of its mobile application early in 2018, Matt Ryan, global chief strategy officer, said last week in a call with investors.
Payments made with a mobile device increased to 30% of transactions in the U.S. stores in fiscal Q3 2017, compared with 29% in the previous three-month period. The chain’s mobile order and pay feature that lets customers order with the Starbucks app and skip the line generated 9% of transactions. That’s nearly double the 5% from a year earlier.
While Starbucks’ mobile app has led to overwhelming foot traffic at some cafes, the company has added digital order managers to 1,000 stores to improve the ability to serve customers who order and pay through their phones."
Source:  Mobile Marketer, 31st July 2017

Pokemon GO has sent more than 500 million visitors to McDonalds in Japan

"Pokémon GO-maker Niantic says it has driven 500 million visitors to sponsored locations like McDonald’s Japan where gamers can score a special virtual good. But it never said how much those sponsors paid per visitor delivered by the game.
But in an interview published yesterday by Brazil’s Globo newspaper, Niantic VP of strategic partnerships Mathieu de Fayet said (translated), “The idea is to offer players items at certain locations, and partners pay $0.15 for each visitor attracted to the game. And we’ve already attracted 500 million visitors. In Japan [at the game’s peak last summer], each activated McDonald’s store attracted 2,000 visitors a day.”
However, we followed up with Niantic, and a spokesperson claimed that $0.15 number is incorrect, possibly due to a translation error. The company says “Niantic’s cost per visit (CPV) model visit has partners spending less than $.50 / daily unique visit to sponsored locations.”
At $0.15 per visit the math would indicate that the sponsorships could have racked up $75 million in revenue for Niantic, while the high bound of $0.50 would have generated $250 million.
Given that McDonald’s Japan activated 3,000 stores in the country, that price would mean that at the game’s peak, the fast-food giant would have paid out roughly $900,000 per day to Niantic for the Pokémon GO sponsorship at $0.15 per visitor, or $3 million per day at $0.50 each."

Source:  TechCrunch, 31st May 2017

72% of Pinterest users have seen a product on Pinterest and then made a purchase in a store

"Pinterest also influences purchases when people step away from the comfort of their couch. 72% of Pinners have seen something on Pinterest and made a purchase offline, according to Millward Brown.
In fact, Pinners are twice as likely to buy products in-store after engaging with certain types of Pins. Internal studies have shown that after viewing a relevant Pin:
61% of Pinners made a food purchase (43% of those purchased online and 82% purchased in-store)
42% of Pinners made a beauty purchase (49% of those purchased online and 69% purchased in-store.)
And when they’re on the go, mobile Pinterest helps seal the deal. Ahalogy found that 45% of active mobile Pinners use Pinterest to look for inspiration while shopping, especially in topics like clothing, food, and arts and crafts. People also turn to Pins they’ve already saved—Millward Brown found that 64% of Pinners look at items they’ve Pinned while they’re at a brick and mortar store."
Source:  Pinterest's blog, 3rd March 2016

Exposure to Tommy Hilfiger's Facebook ads on multiple devices increased likelihood to buy

"The approach has helped apparel manufacturer and retailer Tommy Hilfiger better understand how its online ads influence in-store purchases. The company ran a three-month campaign from March to May in Germany in which Atlas delivered ads across mobile devices and desktops via post-impression retargeting.
Tommy Hilfiger found that for every 1,000 consumers exposed to the ad on a mobile device, 0.3 made a purchase. Similarly, for every 1,000 consumers exposed to the ad on a desktop, 0.33 made a purchase. But for every 1,000 who saw ads across multiple devices, 0.86 made a purchase, which suggests that multiple exposures to an ad can drive shoppers to buy.
Moreover, comparing the company’s customer-relationship management data with impression and clicks generated through the campaign, Atlas found that 13% of members of the Hilfiger Club loyalty program saw at least one of the retailer’s digital ads.
That’s crucial information, says Avery Baker, Tommy Hilfiger’s chief brand and marketing officer. “The campaign not only supported online sales and engagement but drove a measurable increase of in-store purchases—a result that we’ve always found hard to measure.”"

Source:  Internet Retailer, 21st August 2015

Store visits in the UK on Boxing Day 2014 'fell 10% year-on-year'

"Significantly fewer Britons went out to shop on Boxing Day this year, initial data showed, suggesting pre-Christmas online discounts led many to spurn what is traditionally a bumper day for retailers.
Retail data company Springboard said footfall for the first three hours of Dec. 26 was down 10.5 percent year-on-year.
Many large retailers launch sales offering big discounts on Boxing Day to try to entice domestic and foreign consumers to engage in a second wave of buying after Christmas.
But Springboard said many shoppers would be making their purchases online.
"The scale of the drop this year falls outside of an ongoing retail trend," it said. "The double impact of early discounting and online shopping was clearly seen to negatively affect pre-Christmas footfall trends and it seems their influence cannot be ignored in relation to Boxing Day."
Diane Wehrle, the firm's retail insights director, said Christmas Eve footfall had also fallen 5.2 percent year-on-year."

Source:  Reuters, 26th December 2014

Note - Publication day is 26th December, so these are clearly very early figures!  Treat with some caution.

Square processed $100m in payments for small businesses on 5th December 2014

"Small businesses using Square's popular iPhone- and iPad-connected credit card readers combined to sell more than $100 million worth of goods and services in a single day, the company announced on Wednesday.
Food the most popular item on that day, with payment for nearly 1.5 million meals and 430,215 cups of coffee flowing through the app. 202,692 people got haircuts, while 72,601 purchased new clothes.
Some 4,445 pairs of shoes, 55,021 can rides, and 648 tattoos were also sold. Consumers paid for 25,569 services, such as home repairs.
Along with the lofty sales figures, Square highlighted some other equally impressive statistics. One out of every four active credit or debit cards in the U.S. has been used with Square in 2014, for instance, and Square merchants would be the 13th-largest retailer in the country if taken together."
Source:  Apple Insider, 10th December 2014
Square blog post with more data & infographics here

John Lewis sold one tablet per second during Black Friday 2014

"John Lewis has reported the best week of trading in its 150-year history, as feverish demand for televisions and tablet computers turned Black Friday into the busiest shopping day ever for a string of retailers.
John Lewis said it had sold an average of one tablet computer every second and a flatscreen 40-inch voice-command TV every minute from the moment 24 hours of promotions began at midnight last Thursday.
The retailer’s internet traffic was up by more than 300% in the early hours of Friday as consumers logged on to snap up discounted clothing, handbags and electrical goods.
Over the week online sales were up 42% on last year and staff at warehouses had to pack 87% more parcels on Saturday than last year as the group’s website coped well with the rush of orders, avoiding the shutdowns seen elsewhere.
The tills were also ringing in stores with branches in London, Liverpool, York and Southampton among those notching up record daily takings.
The store revealed it had sold £179m worth of goods in the seven days to 29 November, a rise of 22% on the same week last year – a result described as “spectacular” by industry watchers. It also surpassed the previous sales peak of £164.4m in the week before last Christmas.
Consumers were splashing out on electrical goods, with sales up 41% on last year. Clothing was also popular, up 17% on last year, as were pricey handbags, up 37%.
“The year-on-year gain was all the more impressive given that John Lewis had also taken Black Friday very seriously in 2013,” said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight.
Online electricals retailer AO.com said it had its busiest trading weekend in its 14-year history, while Maplin Electronics also said its online sales on the day had been up 70% compared with last year and store sales up more than 30%. Halfords, the bikes to car parts chain, said its website had 1.1m visitors on Black Friday, double the number last year, while online retailer Very.co.uk said its sales were up 134% on last year making it the busiest day in its history.
Jon Owen, retail brands and trading director at Very’s parent company Shop Direct, said: “If Black Friday came of age last year, it was turbo-charged this year. We were blown away by its success.”"

Source:  The Guardian, 2nd December 2014

Quinoa features in 540,000 posts on Instagram

"Increasingly our food choices are being influenced by social media, with millions now using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to share food photos, blog posts and recipes (quinoa features in 540,000 posts on Instagram alone), and food trends can spread instantly.
‘Because of social media, people are very aware of what’s in products,’ says Gordon McDermott, Course Manager at The Waitrose Cookery School, ‘and they’re learning more about ingredients.’
Waitrose is part of this online food revolution. In 2014, Twitter followers of @Waitrose have risen by three-quarters, while our Facebook ‘likes’ have increased by over 50%. We attracted thousands of Instagram followers within weeks of joining in the summer.
In July, for the first time, the number of customers getting in touch with us through social media overtook the number sending emails for the first time.
The most popular Waitrose-related topics on Twitter and Facebook include Heston, gluten-free, cheese, Mother’s Day and coffee."

Source:  Waitrose Food Report, October 2014